3D Printed Christmas Gift Ideas

It’s that time of year again and you are realizing just how many people you may need to buy presents for. Even when shopping around for online deals, the holiday season can cost you hundreds of dollars. Instead of spending all of your money on presents for extended family, take some time out to make a unique, inexpensive 3D printed item.

Chess Sets

Most people know someone in their family who enjoys a good game of chess. They may have a couple of boards in their house, but most chess players always enjoy a unique set.

Wine Holder

There are normally quite a few wine connoisseur within your family and they would be happy to get a unique holder for their favorite pastime. Aside from there being a wide variety of options, you can even personalize the item with a minor amount of design.

Tree Toppers and Ornaments

Every Christmas tree needs a good star on top and what better one than the retro pixel tree topper seen to the right designed by Gustav Knape on Thingiverse. The topper may take a while to print, but it would be a great early present for any Nintendo lover.

Frankenstein Light Switch Plate

While this seems like just a present for children’s rooms, I personally use this in my apartment and know many adults who would enjoy this as a gift. But it definitely works as a backup present for that niece or nephew you didn’t know what to get for.

The photo to the left is this switch printed in black and then certain parts were spray painted grey. The design is by Jeff Kerr on Thingiverse and is available for both the standard switch as well as the paddle type.

Popsicle Maker and Unique Ice Cube Trays

Recently I was wanting to make my own Popsicles out of orange juice and decided to see if there were any files that existed. I did a bit of tweaking to Perry Cain’s design on Thingiverse to get the maker you see to the right. We made sure to print this in t-glase by taulman3D , which is FDA approved as food safe. We would recommend only making parts such as this in similar FDA approved materials.

Fidget Spinners and Cubes

Ever since the Fidget Cube debuted on Kickstarter, there have been duplicates fabricated everywhere. Instead of spending $20 on the original or buying an off brand version, print your own for all of your friends!

We printed a similar print to the bearing fidget gyroscope pictured to the left, designed by Tim Snow on Thingiverse. Also pictured is a tri spinner fidget toy designed by 2ROBOTGUY also on Thingiverse. There are many different types available and you can even design one yourself. Print a bed of 10 in PLA, pop some bearings in where needed, and you no longer have to buy any presents for your your nieces and nephews. Just keep in mind that the majority of these should be printed in high resolution in order to work properly.

Unique Geometric Desk Displays

There is an endless supply of unique geometric shapes available for printing on Thingiverse. If you have that math savvy friend, I am sure they would enjoy a fun Klein bottle desk ornament, as you can see in the image to the right. That specific Klein bottle design is by Reed Kelso on Thingiverse.

There are numerous other ideas that can be found on Thingiverse, My Mini Factory, and all of the other 3D model repositories available online. Not only will all of these ideas save you money this holiday season, the gifts will be received with appreciation for the amount of thought you put into it.